Refugees in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, I believe that refugees are a group that require
much more help. The UN defines a refugee as “a person who has
been forced to leave their country in order to escape war,
persecution, or natural disaster”. Article 14 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights states that "everyone has the right
to seek and enjoy asylum abroad from persecution."

However, whilst Hong Kong is a signatory to the convention
against torture (which has led to hundreds of asylum claims), it
has not yet become a signatory to the UN convention relating to
the status of refugees. Refugees must go through a complicated
legal process, discrimination and racism in Hong Kong while
endlessly waiting for determination on international protection.
Thousands of refugees live in limbo; forbidden to work legally.

As of early 2014, the Social Welfare Department determined that
refugees are each entitled to receive a monthly housing allowance
of $1500, and are entitled to receive food packages worth $1200.
Neither allowance meets the basic living cost in Hong Kong. There
is a massive wealth gap in Hong Kong, and so often refugees are
ignored, or even worse, blamed as a burden to society. According
to former government adviser Leo F. Goodstadt, “refugees and
squatters were continually portrayed as threats to Hong Kong’s
survival and governability. Officials insisted that any welfare
or similar assistance provided for the newcomers would encourage
further influxes.”

The first step I believe the community should take is to provide
short-term aid to refugees that the government has abandoned
without the support they need while awaiting a determination on
their status – which frequently takes over five years. This means
rallying around refugees to provide solutions by helping
poverty-stricken members with raising public awareness,
advocating for the rights of members, and providing for basic
urgent needs such as food, shelter, clothing, educational
services.

Centres should be opened, with the aim of providing basic needs
and guiding refugees through the legal process. Shelters that are
clean, safe, and comfortable should be opened for those
desperately in need of a place to stay at whilst they figure out
how to rent a room.

Finally, the local community should be well informed of the
status of refugees in Hong Kong, and should be encouraged to
understand and volunteer to help those in need. Once the
refugees’ short term needs have been met, Hong Kong needs to help
provide for the long-term needs of refugees. The government
should be pressured to become responsible for refugees. We need
to achieve a clear stance on refugee status in Hong Kong, and the
excessive paperwork/bureaucracy should be cut down.

The ISS-HK, who is supposed to provide minimal welfare for
refugees, is failing to do so, and refugees have even accused
them of corruption- cheating refugees of their entitlements and
colluding with food suppliers/landlords to oppress refugees. The
SCMP has reported the ISS food package is 30% less value than
what the government pays for, resulting in millions of dollars
being cheated. Humane asylum policies should be advocated and
implicated in Hong Kong.

Whilst this is an extremely complicated issue, with economical,
technical, and political ties and complication, I believe that
with the co-operation of the local community, we can truly change
the system and make Hong Kong a better place for refugees.

Hong Kong is undeniably an affluent, developed society with the
capacity and resources to take further action for refugees. As an
international community member, Hong Kong has a well-deserved
reputation for generosity, such as disaster relief and fund
raising. We take pride in being a society with transparency,
freedom of speech, and adherence to human right laws. Now, we
should take action to carry out a social innovation project to
help these refugees.